Islam is a religion, Pas is a political party - Asyraf Wajdi

SHAH ALAM - The indoctrination that any party can simply determine a person is infidel must be stopped for the sake of the Islamic brotherhood bond, says Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

He said this was crucial to avoid conflicts and arguments that leads to accusing someone of being an infidel.

He said political parties only differentiated people’s approach in politics, not their religious beliefs and creed.

"I hope the leaders of Pas can make it clear to their members that voting for any party in this election does not constitute to disbelief or a breach of faith," he said in a video uploaded on his Facebook account on Saturday.

He said some Islamist party members still hold extreme beliefs and have been influenced by the past leadership's ideology that if they were to vote for Umno or Barisan Nasional it will make them non-believers and result in eternal damnation.

"We should distinguish the difference between Islam and a (political) party; Islam is a religion, Pas is a political party—two different things.

"Not voting for Pas or Umno would not make someone a disbeliever," he said.

Asyraf added that Islam holds a higher position than any political party and despite politics being a part of the religion, Islam requires us to take care of all aspects of life, including politics.

"In the words of the Prophet Muhammad, whoever utters the syahadah, is guaranteed heaven, and it is forbidden for us to touch his life, dignity and property.

"Therefore, I request that all parties can differentiate and never arbitrarily drop someone's level just because we have different political beliefs in politics.

"I hope the Pas top brass can issue directives and statements to clarify this. It is not anyone's job to decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell," he said.